The notion that anyone who works hard enough in the US can move “up” in society, to become economically comfortable or even rich and powerful. The reality is more complicated. Conflict theorists would describe The American Dream as an example of false consciousness.

The 1990 federal legislation that prohibits discrimination based on physical disability, and requires that “reasonable accommodations” be made to allow people with disabilities to participate in employment, education, etc.

Gender neutral (neither male nor female, masculine nor feminine).

Anti-Semitism

The discriminatory social system in place in South Africa until the 1990s. Under apartheid, whites accounted for only about 20% of the population, but controlled almost all of the wealth of the nation and held all the power.

The process by which minority groups take on the characteristics (eg. language, religion, diet, and other values and behaviors) of the dominant group.

A term used by Theodor Adorno to describe people who have stereotypical thinking, a combination of biases (including racism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.), and who advocate the rigid enforcement of rules.

An unfavorable attitude toward an individual or group, and/or the practices that unfairly disadvantage certain individuals or groups. (Note: Bias is a noun, while biased is an adjective. So if someone has a certain bias, we say they are biased. Learn to use these terms correctly.)

Arguments that suggest that human behavior is largely determined by biology/genetics.

A rigidly defined, ranked social group, membership in which determined by birth and passed from one generation to the next.

A group of people who share a common socioeconomic position, by virtue of their material and symbolic capital.

Classism

Negative attitudes about and/or discrimination against people based on their social class

Skin color prejudice and/or discrimination within a specific ethnic/racial group.

Conflict theory

Building on the work of Karl Marx, conflict theorists suggest that if we want to understand how society works, we need to understand the struggle over valued resources, we must always ask “Who does this benefit?” Conflict theorists argue that powerful groups in society exert control over key institutions (like law, the economy and the mass media) in ways that protect their own privileges.

Cultural determinism

The notion that we are not at all shaped by biology, but rather that our culture (our experiences, our upbringing) makes us who we are (the opposite of biological determinism).

Representing humans in ways that strip them of their humanity (eg. portraying wartime enemies as monsters or animals).

“Unfair treatment of people based on some identifiable social characteristic such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or class” (Newman 2207: 171).

Discrimination, institutional

Unfair treatment of certain groups by an individual (eg. name-calling, threats, violence, avoidance, exclusion, etc.).

Diversity

Another term for “variety,” but usually used to refer to the many differences between populations (eg. racial diversity, class diversity, religious diversity, etc.)

When applied to social inequality, this term suggests that people with multiple minority statuses (eg. black, female and lesbian) are even more disadvantaged.

The tendency to judge people based on some aspect of their biology or heritage believed to determine the “essence” of their character and shape their behaviors.

A group of people who share a common cultural identity and common cultural traits such as language, religion, customs and diet.

The tendency to view one’s own culture as normal and superior and other cultures as strange and inferior.

False

consciousness

Negative attitudes about or discrimination against large-bodied people.

Feminism(s) and the feminist perspective

The proposition that men and women should have equal opportunities; the efforts aimed at achieving parity for men and women; and research focused on the causes and consequences of gender inequality. There are many different kinds of feminists and feminisms.

Building on the work of Emile Durkheim, functionalists argue that social institutions and phenomena exist and persist because they serve a function in society. If we want to understand a certain social phenomenon, we need to ask “What function does it serve?” Functionalists argue that social inequalities are to some degree both natural and necessary.

The socially defined division of the sexes and the set of behaviors defined as appropriate for each sex.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered/transsexual people, also collectively called sexual minorities.

Heteronormativity

The belief that heterosexuality is the (only) natural, normal and acceptable sexual orientation (also called  “compulsory heterosexuality”).

Negative attitudes about and or discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people (GLBTs). Also known as heterosexism or sexual prejudice.

The notion that media messages are in effect injected into us (like a hypodermic needle), and we are unable to resist them. This model is now considered too simplistic as an explanation of media effects.

Ideology

(1) A set of ideas about the way the world works;

(2) a system of ideas that maintains social inequalities;

 (3) a distorted understanding of the world (false consciousness);

(4) ideas that seem natural and commonsensical, but which were shaped by power relations and help maintain inequalities (eg. racial ideology, gender ideology, class ideology, etc.) .

In-born, biologically given, genetically determined traits.

The terms Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) and Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) come from the work of Louis Althusser. Althusser argues that states can force citizens to do certain things through repressive means (eg. military and police force), what he calls RSAs. Or the state can indirectly encourage or brainwash people into acting a certain way (through the media, propaganda, religious institutions, schools, etc.), what he calls ISAs. He considers ISAs to be more effective at controlling the populace because people believe they are acting voluntarily. If they feel coerced by RSAs, they might rebel.

Islamophobia

Negative attitudes about Islam and Muslims and or discrimination against Muslims

A group with more power in a given society.

American anthropologist who studied gender and family systems in many different societies. She found that gender roles vary substantially across cultures.

The process by which certain individuals and groups are prevented from gaining access to positions of power and influence in society.

A group with less power in a given society.  (In our society, Hispanic-Americans, women, and gays and lesbians are all minority groups.)

Sexual relations and/or marriage between people of different races, first outlawed in the US in 1661. In 1967 the Supreme Court ruled that racially based marriage prohibitions were unconstitutional.

The hatred or extreme devaluation of women.

The debate over how much our personalities and behaviors are shaped by nature (biology, genes) or how much they are shaped by nurture (environment, experiences). Most social scientists today argue that both nature and nurture shape who we become.

That which is considered normal (normative behavior is behavior that conforms to societal expectations, rules and norms).

Representing living beings in ways that make them seem like objects (eg. It is not uncommon for women in movies not to have any significant roles other than as sexual objects to arouse men’s sexual desires—sexual objectification.)

The representation of certain groups as inherently different than (and usually inferior to) one’s own group.

Having numbers higher than expected given a group’s proportion in the general population. (eg. African Americans make up 13% of the US population but 41% of federal prison inmates. They are over-represented in the prison population.)

The acceptance and promotion of cultural diversity (sometimes called a “mosaic” or “salad bowl” model in contrast to the “melting pot” model of assimilation.”)

The percentage of residents whose income falls below the official poverty line.

Negative or unfavorable attitudes toward a group or its individual members, based on stereotypes or generalizations about that group.  (Note: Prejudice is a noun, while prejudiced is an adjective. So if someone holds a certain prejudice, we say they are prejudiced. Learn to use these terms correctly.)

The amount of honor and respect one receives from others.

The spreading of (often false) information to benefit or harm some group or cause.

A group of people who are generally considered by themselves and/or by others to be a distinct group on the basis of shared physical characteristics.

Racial “slurs,” a denigrating label applied to an ethnoracial group.

Racial formation

The process of defining racial and ethnic groups. Such definitions vary substantially over time and in different cultures.

The invisibility of race for majority racial groups (eg. “whiteness” in the US is viewed as the normal or neutral racial category).

The belief that certain groups are superior or inferior on the basis of selected physical characteristics, and the discriminatory behaviors based on these beliefs.

The type of racism that occurs when an individual thinks or acts in a way that is motivated by the belief that the people s/he acts toward are inferior based on their perceived race.

Patterns of discrimination based on ‘race’ that have become structured into existing social institutions.

Blaming an individual or group for wrongs that were not their doing.

The use of science to construct and maintain racial hierarchies.

The separation of select social groups (eg. gender segregation , racial segregation).

The maintenance of separate territories or institutions for different ethnoracial groups.

The biological (anatomical, genetic and hormonal) differences distinguishing females from males.

Negative attitudes about or discrimination against people based on their sex.

The assumption that there are only 2 sexes and all people can be classified as one or the other. This ignores the existence of intersexuals and transsexuals.

Erotic practices or preferences (also, sexual orientation)

Social construction of difference

The notion the categories such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, etc. are not determined by biology but are rather constructed by society. Each society constructs these categories in different ways and has it own ways of dealing with difference.

The application of Darwin’s theory of natural selection and evolution to human subgroups, to argue that some subgroups (eg. some races or classes) are naturally superior to others.

Social institutions

The established bodies that organize and regulate social life (eg. the family, schools, the state, the mass media, etc.)

The movement of individuals and groups between different class positions.

The existence of structured inequalities between groups in society.

The social processes through which we develop an awareness of social norms and values and children achieve a distinct sense of self.

The process of learning gender roles.

Socioeconomic status (SES)

The classification of individuals based on criteria such as income and wealth (often used as a synonym for “class”), and the prestige, honor and respect associated with this classification.

(1) the social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society; (2) the position one occupies in society.

(1) the social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society; (2) the position one occupies in society.

Any social position held by a person as a result of his or her own actions (eg. ‘boss,’ ‘graduate,’ ‘doctor’).

An overly simplified image of a group of people.  (Can be negative or positive.)

An overly simplified image of a group of people.  (Can be negative or positive.)

The social positions to which a person is allocated either by biology or family background, and which cannot be changed by individual actions (eg.  ‘white,’ ‘male,’ ‘teen’).

Negative meanings attached to a behavior or characteristic. For instance, a person labeled a “sex offender” is highly stigmatized in our society. Such a stigma will lead people to avoid or shun such an individual.

Social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure

The Frankfurt School term for the mass media. The term reflects the Frankfurt School view that powerful groups control and create culture in ways that benefit them.

Someone who has had gender reassignment surgery (a sex change).

Having numbers lower than expected given a group’s proportion in the general population. (eg. African Americans make up 13% of the US population but only 4% of lawyers and 5% of doctors. They are under-represented in these fields.)

The fear or hatred of strangers.